Biz & IT —

Windows Live gets all spacey

MSN Spaces is getting a Live Facelift as it gets absorbed into the ever- …

The enormous popularity of "social networking" sites like MySpace.com has not gone unnoticed by the Giant of Redmond. Despite MSN Spaces having been around for a while now, with Windows Live's apparent mandate to incorporate every Web 2.0 buzzword possible, you knew it was only a matter of time before Microsoft decided that they had to upgrade MSN Spaces with the Live branding and some flashy new technology.

The result is Windows Live Spaces, which is pretty much like MSN Spaces but with additional features. The big new feature is "gadgets"—special mini-applications created by community developers that work kind of like browser plugins, but for your Live Space. Roshambo (the rock, paper, scissors version, not the South Park game where you kick people in sensitive areas) and Sudoku are some examples of available gadgets.

Other new features include the following:

Use the Spaces Friends Explorer to explore and discover new friends through your network of friends and Messenger buddies!

Invite friends of friends to be your friend on Spaces and on Messenger!

The service still has a few bugs to be worked out—I sometimes got errors when I tried to log on with my Windows Live ID while viewing a profile, such the one for Bill Gates above (Apparently Bill is a 20 year-old goateed male living in Turkey, which was something I didn't know before!)

Windows Live Spaces allows users to upload up to 500 new photos per month for free, although they don't say how many months you can keep this up for. Keep clicking!